Project Grant H79TI082915

GUIDANCE FOR GOALS - THE ST. LOUIS EMPOWERMENT CENTER (STLEC), AN EVIDENCE-BASED CONSUMER-OPERATED SERVICE PROVIDER, WILL IMPLEMENT RECOVERY COMMUNITY SUPPORT SERVICES WITH THE GUIDANCE FOR GOALS PROGRAM USING PEER CASE MANAGEMENT (PCM). PCM IS A SUITE OF INTENSIVE RECOVERY SUPPORTS DESIGNED AS A HUB TO DELIVER PEER-BASED, INTEGRATED CARE FOR STLEC CONSUMERS, WITH A FOCUS ON HOMELESS AFRICAN AMERICAN MEN WHO HAVE SUBSTANCE USE OR CO-OCCURRING DISORDERS. THE STLEC CURRENTLY SERVES APPROXIMATELY 350 UNDUPLICATED PARTICIPANTS PER MONTH EACH YEAR, ABOUT 200 OF WHOM ARE HOMELESS AFRICAN AMERICAN MEN WHO HAVE A SUBSTANCE USE DISORDER (SUD) OR A CO-OCCURRING DISORDER (COD) IN ST. LOUIS CITY AND COUNTY (STLCC). OVER A SPAN OF FIVE YEARS, THE STLEC AIMS TO IMPLEMENT GUIDANCE FOR GOALS FOR AT LEAST 675 MEN FROM THE POPULATION OF FOCUS (I.E., YEAR 1: 75 MEN; YEARS 2-5: 150 MEN/YEAR) AT LEAST 360 OF WHOM WILL PARTICIPATE IN PCM (YEAR 1: 40 MEN, YEARS 2-5 80 MEN/YEAR). CERTIFIED PEER SPECIALISTS FROM STLEC/STLCC WILL BE TRAINED ON THE GUIDANCE FOR GOALS PROGRAM TO SERVE AS PEER SPECIALIST NAVIGATORS WHO WILL DEVELOP PEER-DRIVEN CASELOADS FOR THE POPULATION OF FOCUS, WHICH ENTAILS "TRADITIONAL" PEER RECOVERY SUPPORT SERVICES (E.G., TRUST-BUILDING, GOAL-SETTING, REFERRALS, MUTUAL SUPPORT, ETC.) AS WELL AS MORE INTENSIVE SERVICES, SUCH AS ENCOURAGING OR ASSISTING PARTICIPANTS WITH: APPOINTMENTS AND FOLLOW-UPS FOR "SPECIALTY" TREATMENT AND/OR HOUSING SERVICES; LINKING TO COMMUNITY SELF-MANAGEMENT SUPPORTS; DEVELOPING PERSONAL SELF-MANAGEMENT TOOLS; IDENTIFYING BARRIERS TO RECOVERY FROM SUD OR COD; SETTING RECOVERY GOALS; AND ACHIEVING/ATTAINING RECOVERY GOALS, ETC. PEER SPECIALIST NAVIGATORS WILL ALSO MODEL, TRAIN/FACILITATE, AND ENCOURAGE PARTICIPANTS TO: IMPLEMENT SELF-MANAGEMENT SKILLS AS WELL AS OTHER RECOVERY-POSITIVE BEHAVIORS; MAINTAIN CURRENT DOCUMENTATION VIA CHARITY TRACKER CASE MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE; TRACK PARTICIPANTS' ENCOUNTERS WITH MEDICAL PROVIDERS, COUNSELORS, & OTHER SOCIAL SERVICES, AND SUPPORT PARTICIPANT-DEFINED RECOVERY AND WELLNESS GOALS. LINKAGES TO AND RECIPROCAL REFERRALS WITH PARTNER AGENCIES AND OTHER COMMUNITY SERVICE RESOURCES ARE KEY ELEMENTS OF THE GUIDANCE FOR GOALS PROGRAM USING PCM. IN ADDITION TO PCM, THE STLEC AIMS TO INCREASE ITS CAPACITY TO SUPPORT THE FAMILY MEMBERS/LOVED ONES OF THE POPULATION OF FOCUS BY PROVIDING CPS-FACILITATED SUPPORT GROUPS, TRAININGS FOR OVERDOSE EDUCATION AND NALOXONE DISTRIBUTION, AND TEACHING HARM-REDUCTION SKILLS. THE STLEC WILL ALSO INCREASE ITS CAPACITY TO SUPPORT AND MENTOR PARTICIPANTS WHO EITHER WANT TO BECOME TRAINED AS A CERTIFIED PEER SPECIALIST (CPS) IN MISSOURI OR, IF ALREADY A CPS, TO ADVANCE THEIR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT. THE STLEC WILL TRAIN A TOTAL OF AT LEAST 75 PARTICIPANTS, WITH AN EMPHASIS ON THE POPULATION OF FOCUS (I.E., 15/YEAR) TO BECOME A CPS. IN ADDITION, THE STLEC WILL PROVIDE CPSS SUPPORT AND ACCESS TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI'S TELEHEALTH NETWORK'S CERTIFIED PEER SPECIALIST ECHO (EXTENSION FOR COMMUNITY HEALTHCARE OUTCOMES) SERIES.